Ditching-machine.



H. MATTHIES. DITGHING MACHINE. APPLIOATIOK HLED-JULY 11, 1910.

Patented Mar.21 ,1911.

3' SHEETS-SHEET 1.

H. MATTHIES.

DITGHING MACHINE. I APPLICATION FILED JULY 11, 1910.

987,249, Patented Mar. 21, 1911.

a mama-sum 2.

H. MATTHIES DITGHING MACHINE. APFLIO'A'HON nun JULY 11, 1910.

' Patented Mar. 21, 1911.

shuns-SHEET a.

UNITED STATES PATENT- FFI E HENRY rmrrmns, or CHICAGO, rumors. f

DITOHINGMACHINE.

To all whom it 1mg concern thereof Be it.- known that- I, HENRY MATTHIES, citizen of the United States, residing-at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a. certain new and useful Improvement in Ditching-Machines, of which the following is-a full, clear, concise, and exact description.

My invent-ion relates to a machine for digging ditches. Its object is -to provide a traction ditching struction, in which the excavating elements are mounted upon, an adjustable auxiliary frame carried by the main frame of the machine in such manner that the said excavating elements can be readily adjusted to cut a ditch of the required depth, and in which the excavated material is automatically removed, carried to the rear ofthe machine. and again deposited into the ditch,after the tile or piping has been laid thereimwor in which such material is otherwise suitably dis osed of.

ne feature of my invention relates to the manner in which the auxiliary frame is mounted upon the main frameand to the means whereby said auxiliary frame is adjusted both vertically and longitudinally with respect to the main frame.

Another feature of myinvention relates to the manner in which the excavating element's are mounted on the auxiliary frame.

Another feature of my invention relates to the gear mechanism by which the machine itself and the several traveling elements are driven from source of power,

Another feature of my invention relates to the provision of adjustable guard-wings located immediately in the rear of the excavatin' elements to prevent the side walls of the itch from caving in upon the excavating elements. Other features the structure of the manner in which they are mounted on an endless chain, and to the means whereby the material removed by the shovels is au tomatically dumped at a predetermined point in the travel of said shovels.

Another feature of my invention relates to the construction and arrangement ,of the conveyer by means of which the dumped; material is carried back. into the di tch which hasbeen out, after the pipe OIdIflHl' .tile has been laid.

machine. of. simple consome suit-able of my invention relate to. the excavatlng shovels, to-

Specification of Letters Patent. Patenfd 1911 Application filed July 11, 1910. Serial No. 571,271, 1- v These and other features of my invention may be more readily 'understood-byreference to the accompanying" drawings 1n Which Figure 1 is a side elevation'of" machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2 15' a lan view thereof; Fig. 3 is an enla rged agmentary View of the auxiliary framean the excavating mechanism carried thereby; Fig. i is a section 3; Fig. 5 is a side elevation of myimproved form of shovel, showinga fragmentof the endless chain upon which the shovels are mounted Fig. 6 is a central, "vertical section of the shovel shown in 5; is a planview of said shovel; and Fig. 8. is

Y a front elevation of the shovel as it appears in its downward travel.

Similar letters of reference refer to simi lar parts throughout the several views.

The main frame of the inachine'preferably comprises four horizontally extending channel irons 1, 2, 3 and 4 connected at their forward ends to the cross member or plate The channel irons 1 and 2 extend longitudinally and centrally of the machine in parallel relation to each other. At the rear portion of the machinethe irons 1 and 2 are connected by transverse bearingblocks 6 and 7. The irons 3 and 4 flare outwardly toward the rear and theirrear ends are connected to the irons 1 and 2 by struts or bracesS and 9, respectively.' Located beneath the plate 5 and pivoted thereto at 10 is a plate 11 having downwardly extending ears 12 in which is journaled the axle of the front wheels 13, 18. The front portion of the main frame is therefore supported upon said wheels. The rear portion of the main frame is supported upon the driving wheels 14;. 14. which are mounteduponthe axle 15. The driving wheels l t'are provided with internal gear teeth ldwhich. are engaged by inions 17 carried upon the outer ends of the shaft 18. A shaft 19 is 'suitably mounted upon the rear of the machine, as for example. with its ends journaled 'in bearings supported upon the channel irons 1' and 3.

respectively. Said shaft- 19 carries two pulleys 20. 21, one of said pulleys, for example, pulley 21, being fixed to the shaft and the other anidler. Power can thus be trans'-.

mitted to the shaft 19 in a well-known man- :ner from any suit-able source of power.

Since it is old to mount upon the frame of ditching machines the e ngine or other driv-- ing power, I have not deemed it necessary 25 and 26. Mounted upon the shaft 18 in proximity to the beveled gears 25 and 26 is a beveled gear 28 adapted to engage with one or the other of said beveled gears 25 and 26. By thus adjusting the sleeve 27 in any well-known manner, power may be transmitted from the pulley 21 to the driving -wheels 14 to cause said wheels to travel eithgr forward or backward, as may be desire Suitably journaled on the irons 1 and 2 is a transverse shaft 29 provided with a: worm wheel 30. Meshing with said worm wheel is a worm 31 carried upon the lower :end of the shaft of the steering wheel 32. Wound .upon the shaft 29 in opposite directions, in

a well-known manner, are flexible steering cordsor chains 33, 34. which are secured at theiropposite ends to the cars 12 of the plate '11. It thus appears that by turning the steering wheel 32, one .of said steering cords will be lengthened and the other shortened, thereby guiding the machine either to the right or to the left as may be desired. Mounted upon the frame of the machine at the rear ofv the steering wheel 32 is a drivers seat 35.

Adjustably mounted on the main frame of the machine is an auxiliary frame comprising side plates 36 suitably connected together, for example, by I-beam 86. At its upper end, said auxiliary frame is connected to the main frame by braces 37 pivoted at one end to the upper end of said auxiliary frame 36 and their lower ends to the main frame of the machine. The lower end of the plates 36 have a horizontally extending bar 38 provided at its forward'ends with bifurcated arms38 which are pivotally connected to the side plates 36, the auxiliary frame being thus supported by said bar 38.

The bar38 is provided at its rear end with a rack or series of teeth 39. The rack 39 extends through a U-shaped yoke 40 and is held thereby into engagement witha pinion wheel 41. Said pinion wheel 41 is carried upon a sleeve which likewise carries the toothed wheel 42, said sleeve being mounted in any suitable manner, as for example, loosely on the shaft 15. Meshing. with the toothed wheel 42 is a gear wheel 43, the stub shaft 44 of which is journaled upon the main frame. Fitting upon the end of the shaft .44 is a crank handle 45 which may be inade removable if desired. It is apparent therefore that by turning the handle 45 motion is transmitted through the gears 42, 43 and to adjust the depth to which the ditch is cut. The means shown in the drawings comprises a shaft 46 journaled in the angle irons 47, 48 mounted upon the main frame of the machine. Wound about the shaft 46 is a flexible cord 49, the lower end of which is connected to the bar 38. It is thus apparent that by turning the shaft 46, the rack bar 38 can be raised or lowered, thereby raising or lowering the auxiliary frame. As a means for turning the shaft 46, I preferably arrange upon one end thereof a worm wheel 50 which is engaged bya worm 51 carried upon one end of a shaft 52, the other end of which is provided by a hand wheel 53. 15y turning the hand wheel 53, itis apparent therefore that the auxiliary frame 36 can be adjusted to any desired vertical position.

The auxiliary frame has journaled in its upper and lower ends, respectively, sprocket wheels 54, 55 with which engage the links of an endless sprocket chain 56. At suitable intervals on the sprocket chain are mount- .ed the shovels 57, the stri' cture of which will hereinafter be more fully described. Arranged upon the inside of the plates 36, at some distance from the edges thereof, are opposed longitudinally extending angle plates 58, 58 forming a track, between which the sprocket chain 56 travels. Each link of the sprocket chain has mounted on the top thereof a short plate 59 of sufficient width to project upon the opposite sides of the sprocket chain. Each succeeding. plate is overlapped by the preceding one. These plates 59 rest upon the trackformed by the angle plates 58 and thus in effect produce a continuous but flexible plate which extends around the sprocket wheels 54, 55. Pivotally mounted at suitable intervals upon the sprocket chain 56 are the shovels 57. .Each shovel-preferably comprises a blade 60, rising perpendicularly from the sprocket chain, and a rearwardly extending bifurcated base 61 adapted to straddle the sprocket chain 56 and, like the plates 59, to rest upon the track formed by the angle plates 58. The legs 61 are braced to the plates 60 by triangular shaped side braces 62. The parts 60, 61 and 62 are preferably formed of a single casting. At the vertex of the angle formed by the legs 61 and the plate 60, the shovel is pivoted, as at 63. to aplate 64 mounted upon the sprocket chain 56 in the same manner as the plates Arranged at the rear of the blade 60 and projecting a short distance beyond the outer edge of the same is a cutting element preferably in the form of opposed metallic strips 65 having inturned ends 66,

adapted to trail at the rear of form temporary walls for .niitting the c7 said inturned ends constituting the cutting knives. At the upper end of the said auxiliary frame,

away or omitted for a short distance. Where such plates are cut away or omitted, the bifurcations of the base 61 of the shovel are no'longersuppoited upon thetracks and said shovel drops by gravity into the position indicated at the top of Fig. 3, thus pershovel to pass under the scraper by whichthe dirt or excavated material is removed from the shovel.

Hinged to the bottom of the auxiliary frame upon the opposite sides and at the rear thereof are two wings 68 which are the shovels and preventing the sides of the ditch from caving in. In. order that said wings may be adjusted to correspond to different angles at which the main frame is adjusted, they are connected at their upper portions by brace rods 69 which are pivoted at their lower ends to said plates 68 and which are secured to the plates 36 by bolts which extend through slots 70 in the.

' 7 upper end of said brace rod 69;

.The material scraped or unloaded from the shovel maybe disposed of many con- Y which shaft may venient manner. 7 However, I preferably dump. such material from the shovels on an endless conveyor 71 which passes over the wheel 72, said conveyor lying in a troughshaped frame 74 suitably supported atits rear end upon the mainframe by a brace 7 5. 35

Said trough 74 at. its forward end is supported upon the shaft 76 of the wheel 72, be journaled in the plates 36, 36 of the auxiliary frame. The shaft 7 6 is preferably made flexible, thus allowing the rear end of the conveyor t-obe shifted on the cross arm 77 so that the dirt may be dropped either into the ditch or to one side thereof, as may be desired. A

The manner in which the machine operates may bebriefiy described as follows The auxiliary frame which carries the excavating elements may ditchmay be cut to the desired depth.v by turning the wheel 53, thereby raising the bar 38, and justing the bar 38 horizontally. The power transmitted to the driving pulley 21 is transmitted, through the gear mechanism hereinbefore described, to the driving wheels ll and the machine is thus propelled forward. Mounted upon the shaft 19 of the driving pulley 21 is a sprocket wheel 77 from which the sprocket wheel 7 8 is driven through the -medium of the chainh't). Mounted on the same shaft with the wheel 7 8 is a sprocket wheel from which the sprocket wheel 54 is driven through the medium ofthe chain 81. Therefore, as the machine is propelled forward the sprocket wheel 54 transmits motion to the endless chain 56 upon which the angle plates 58, 58 are cut in motion at a suitable be adjusted, so that aby turning the crank 45, thereby adaround said auxiliary frame,

the excavating elements are mounted. The shovels 57 scoop up the earth, the knives at. the same time cutting or loosening the earth for the next succeeding shovel. Normally the plates 59 and 64, carried by the endless chain 56, rest upon the angle plates 58, but at the upper part of the auxiliary framethe angle plates 58 are cut away, as hcreinbe fore. described, thereby permitting the buckets to fall back by gravity and pass'be neath the scraper 67 by which latter the earth is removed from the shovels to the end less conveyor 71. The dirt or other encavated material is carried by the endlessco'nveye'r to the rear of the machine'and"isfinally dumped either to one side offl the ditch, or, if desired, into the ditch itself.

' The gear for propelling themachine and the gear for causing a travel of the excavating elements, though driven from the same" source of power, may be operated independent-1y of each other. The machine may therefore be propelled over the roads to its destination. Then the machine may be made to stand still. while the digging apparatus is set in motion. When the required depth of cut is reached, the traction apparatus is set speed to cut a ditch of the required depth. It will be noted that the depth of out can be regulated continuously while the machine is in motion, thus insuring a ditch of suitable grade despite inequalities of the surface of the ground over whichflthe machine travels in cutting said ditch. i I

What I claim is: v a

1. In a ditching machine, excavating elements comprising an endless chain, means for imparting travel thereto, a series of plates mounted upon said chain, shovels pivotally mounted at intervals upon said plates, said shovels each comprising a blade and a bifurcated base extending rearwardly' from the blade, and a pair cavating knives mounted upon each side of the shovel.

2. In a ditching machine, excavating mechanism comprising an auxiliary frame,

1 two parallel tracks extending longitudinally of said auxiliary frame, an endless chain mounted to travel between said tracks, a series of overlapping plates carried by said chain and supported at their side edges upon said tracks, and .hovels mounted upon said plates.

3. In a ditching machine, excavating mechanism comprisingan auxiliary frame, two parallel tracks extending longitudinally said tracks being cut away at the rear of the upper portion of said auxiliary frame, an endless chain mounted to travel between said tracks. and shovels pivoted at intervals upon said chain, said shovels having a bifurcated base supported upon said tracks.

a I two parallel tracks extending longitudinally around said auxiliary frame, an endless chain mounted to travelbetw'een said tracks,

and shovels pivotally mounted at intervals upon-said chain, said shovels each comprising a blade and a bifurcated base extending rearwardly from the base and supported upon said tracks.

5. In a ditching machine, excavating mechanism comprising an auxiliary frame mounted upon said main frame, said auxiliary frame comprising sidepllate's arranged in parallel relation and suitably spaced apart, a track mounted upon the inner faces of each of said plates inwardly from the edges thereof, sprocket wheels journaled in the opposite ends of said auxiliary frame,

'an'endless chain driven from such sprocket wheels and lying between said tracks, a series of overlapping plates of greater widththan said chain carried by said chain and supported at their side edges upon said tracks, and shovels pivotally mounted at intervals upon said plates.

6. In a ditching machine, excavating mechanism comprising an auxiliary frame mounted on said main frame, two parallel tracks mounted longitudinally of said auxiliary frame, said tracks being omitted at the rear of the upper portion of the auxiliary frame, an endless chain mounted to travel between said tracks, shovels pivoted at intervals upon said chain, said shovels each comprising a; blade-and a bifurcated base adapted to be supported upon said tracks, and a scraper secured to said auxiliary frame at a position thereon at which said tracks are omitted, whereby said shovels are adapted to fall back by gravity and pass immediately underneath said scraper.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 27th day of J une, A. D., 1910.

' HENRY MATTHIES. lVitnesses GEORGE E. FOLK,

MARSHALL SOLBERG. 

